Last weekend, we decided to add a little color and music to our herb garden with a windchime basket planter! This is a project we could all work on as a family, because there are kid friendly aspects to this project (adding beads) and grown-up parts (tying knots). We cranked the tunes and crafted it up.

We started with a tangled up semi-hopeless windchime that Jake’s parents were going to get rid of. We took scissors to it and salvaged the chimes! To find your own cheap chimes, search at thrift stores and garage sales (or perhaps even your own storage).

I knew I wanted to find some cool way to hang the chimes outside, and Jake had the brilliant idea to hang them from the bottom of a woven basket we had on hand—a basket that would also make a great planter.

In addition to a basket and chimes, you’ll need string, beads (optional), and a droopy plant in a container that fits in your basket. Oh, and scissors to cut your string.

Here’s how we did it, though your steps will probably be a little different, as we’re working with found objects.

Tie the string on the weaves of the basket. Remember that you need the same number of strings as chimes, and try to get them centered / spread evenly / cut to the same length. We left off a chime to make ours look right.

Here’s a step-by-step photo process of the knots Jake used:

You can slide this knot up and down the string, which will help you to get all of the strings to the same length!

Next, Eliza and Jonas chose wooden beads to use on the strings, just to make it a little fancier.

Eliza threaded them on, and put the same types of beads on each string (so that each would be the same length), but varied the pattern.

If we had a tough time getting the string through a bead, we wrapped a little tape around the end of the string so it was more sturdy going through. Alternatively, you can push it through with a needle.

To get the beads to stay in place, we doubled the string back through the last bead again, then tied a knot at the bottom of the bead. This way, you don’t have to worry about the knot being bigger than the hole in the bead.

Last, Jake tied the windchimes on with the same knot he used to attach the strings to the basket.

I filled the basket with chocolate mint, which I put in a rectangle plastic container after stabbing a few holes in the bottom of it for drainage.

It was a fun whole-family craft project to do on a Sunday afternoon!

I love hearing the gentle noises of the chimes outside, and it adds a little color to the sea of green that is our herb garden.